A Double Agent's Tale
by Hopelessromantic721
Summary: You all know the story of the Meridell Battle, right? Well, do you remember that mysterious Zafara working under Kass's rule? Well, this is the untold story...from her point of view. Join Zafara Double Agent in her story! Eventual JeranxDouble Agent
1. Chapter 1

_A tale of a Zafara Double Agent. The nimble, stoic, and clever spy who helped bring down the war. WRONG. This is the REAL story of a clumsy, shy, and good natured agent who only wanted to help bring peace to the lands she loves. _

I would like to inform everyone right now that this story is based off the lesser known character, Zafara Double Agent. She has no name, and as far as I could find, she never did. So I have given her the name Zephyrne instead of letting her go on as just Zafara Double Agent. And I do warn you now; she won't be what you'll be expecting. I do hope you all will enjoy my version of this story. I had a wonderful time writing it.

Now onto the story! Enjoy! Oh, and eventually this will have hinted JeranxDouble agent!

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_There are many wars in my country. Some were made by fair reasons, while others stood on the grounds of the unjust and cruel._

_I am but a humble servant woman of the King Darigan who sent my home into war. And then I was once a spy for the evil General Kass, who almost sent the two kingdoms I loved into another terrible war. Needless to say, I have a bad choice in these "rulers" I serve under. But I have a trick up my sleeve that got me out of a few tight situations. Something, as a little girl, scarred me for life; leaving me with a curse…and a blessing._

_My story is untold but plays an important part for the side of good, evil…and integrity._

_I am known as the "Zafara Double Agent", very few others as "Grace", but to many as "traitor."_

_My name is Zephyrne.  
And this…is my story.  
_  
The wars between Meridell and Darigan Citadel were pretty much over, but were not at peace either. It was the after effect of the one sided battle years before, where the Meridell knights had taken the sacred orb from their home, leaving the land to waste. It was a dark time for the people of the Citadel; having lived for so long in peace and happiness, that it came as a great shock to be reduced to the monsters they are now, and cursed to live the remainder of their lives in the skies.

But it wasn't long before the sacred orb was found once again…

A dark hooded figure walked among the joyous Meridell dirt streets, where Neopets of all kinds joined together in laughter and amusement. Many were laughing and many more had that glint in their eyes for the upcoming tournaments. They gossiped and laughed at the might be winners and the obvious losers. One name kept coming up among them all. The so called Jeran the Knight was spoken very highly among them, saying he was the youngest yet strongest knight of them all.

The Neopets went on in their conversations on their theories of the tournament. The children however, had the blissful gift of innocence of all things evil and troublesome, and scurried around the legs of the adults, shrieking with laughter.

The hooded one moved through the crowds without a single word uttered to anyone. Though the mysterious pet was dressed entirely different from the others, it blended with the joyous people perfectly; like a lone yellow leaf in a swarm of green leaves that would come into view for a second and them disappear again. The dark figure was both visible for all to see, but also invisible to anyone who came across its way, as though it wasn't really there at all, but only in spirit. And even those who came close to the figure couldn't get a good look at the face, or even catch a hint of what species it was.

The only thing that could have identified this mysterious individual, despite it was wearing a cloak that covered it from head to toe, was the fact two floppy blue spotted ears hung from two holes on the hood, bouncing slightly to every step. Though this stranger may have looked to be oblivious to everything around, the truth was it heard every conversation nearby with the skills of an eavesdropping ear. It kept its head down most of the time, as though its life depended on keeping its face hidden from sight. The figure walked quickly, but not in a great haste; through the pets and away from the great castle, never once lifting its head.

There was however a small Usul who stood alone from the crowds that caught the attention of the hooded individual. Even more so were the tears gathering in the eyes of the child that made the pet come to a stop. The large sad, glistening eyes darted at the passing pets, as if searching for a familiar face. But at the rate the tournaments were closing in, and the fact most of the villagers were hurrying over to the castle to get good seats did not help the matter at all for the young spirit.

The figure stood there staring at the child for a long while. If anyone could see into its mind right then, they would see all the questions bouncing in the head about the lonely child. But there was also the secretive info stashed in the back that it knew it must return, or else it would be in a dire situation.

But the child looked to be in one too…and the stranger wanted to know so badly why she was so sad.

After the mental battle in the stranger's mind had subsided, the figure rubbed the temples on its head, as though exhausted by its own silly curiosity, before taking a deep sigh. It took a quick glance around then hurried over to the little girl's side. The young carrot top yelped out in fright at the sight of the stranger kneeling beside her with an aura of a faerie, filled with a mysterious sense of calm reassurance despite the dark appearance it held.

Almost as though there was a sort of magic hidden under all those clothes…

"Young one…," the cloaked one spoke, surprising the little girl to find the voice was feminine. "What is the matter?"

The Usul backed away slightly from the figure. Her eyes told the stranger that despite having a gentle aura, she still feared her strange and foreign form nonetheless. "Please…do not fear me child…Please," she said in a gentle tone that sounded pleading. When the young Usul did not move, the figure gave off another sigh. It took one more glance around, this time looking at every passing face and making sure no one was looking their way. Then it pulled the hood away from her face a little to reveal the face of a faded blue Zafara with mysterious droopy eyes staring at her through pale gray bangs. But neither the bangs nor the hood could hide the brilliance shining in the sockets that glinted in a beautiful sapphire color, glittering with both concern…and secluded mystery.

But there was also something else in those eyes that captivated the child. She could not explain, but the look in her eyes was the same as the magical aura she held.

For a moment, the Usul stood rooted to the spot. She never saw anyone like the Zafara before with her dark clothes and strange colored fur. The child would have thought creatures with this appearance were evil beings that came to cause havoc to her home, but never in her wildest dreams would she have believed to have seen such a strange beauty like her appearing out of the blue in such a gentle manner.

In many ways, the girl saw her as a faerie, coming when least expected, holding an aura to awe people for hours, and then disappear without a trace. It just came as a shock to see a normal, if not abnormal, outsider to hold such a presence.

While the girl stared in awe, the Zafara smiled sweetly, maybe a bit shyly, at the child. "Remember something young one, for you might want to tell others the same thing. Do not judge someone by first appearance, but rather look beyond their form and see into their eyes, for that is where the soul is hidden and shall be the open window to who they really are inside," the blue haired maiden said calmly to the wide eyed girl.

A moment passed by between them until finally the girl nodded to her, looking a little unsure. The woman smiled back warmly as she figured that was the best she would get from the young Usul. "Tell me then. What troubles you?" she asked in a warm motherly tone.

The Usul blinked then sniffled lightly and wiped her watery eyes. "I lost my mama…," she choked out.

Pale bangs bounced as the maiden nodded in understanding. She figured as much that the girl was scared alone without being at the safe side of her mother. Pulling her hood back over her eyes, the woman stood up to her feet. "Well then, we must find her then, shan't we?" she asked extending her hand.

The girl looked hesitantly at the offer from the female Zafara, but took her hand nonetheless with a shaky smile. Under her hood, the woman shared the gesture, though she hid it well from even the girl.

"Come along," she said and tugged the girl along her side entering the scurrying crowds. They walked for what seemed like hours, all over Meridell, searching for any sign of the girl's mother. During the time together, the elder Pet made sure with everything in her power to make the child has happy as possible. She took her to the shooting range for a short minute, letting the girl soak up the sight of both clumsy and skillful shooters hit the red and white targets. They came across the Petpet stand and cooed at the small baby-like creatures, and then to the Turdle racings where they cheered and saw the winners scream happily. And after some persuading, the child managed to convince the Zafara to play "Kiss a Mortog", where she purposely lost. The delight beaming in the girl's eyes was enough for the Zafara to swallow her pride…and the mouthful of slime.

Though the two females had a lovely time, they did not forget their goal and continued their search. By then the little girl had warmed up to the woman and acted as though she was enjoying her time with her favorite aunt. This didn't bother the Zafara for two reasons. One, no one would look their way twice with such an innocent child at her side. And Two, she was truly enjoying herself with the Usul, much more than she had anticipated at least.

To keep the child's spirits up, the Zafara had bought her a shiny green apple covered in chocolate. Still the girl's spirits were diminishing along with the setting sun as she looked all around for any sign of her parents. Under her hood, the Zafara bit her lip. There was one more place they hadn't gone near…one more place to be searched, and the same place the mysterious woman dared not go near.

The castle….

But looking at how distressed the child grew by the hours made her change her mind. Gathering her courage the woman started to guide the girl to the white castle.

"Do not worry little one. We are close to finding your parents," she reassured calmly. Her beautiful blue eyes shined with sincere honesty that relaxed the fretting girl. She gave a nod and smiled back at her.

"What might be your name young one?" the Zafara asked smiling down at her through her hood and wanting to change the subject. In all the excitement she forgot to even ask her name, and was quite curious as to what the little angel's name might be.

The child beamed up in reply. "My name is Ginger!" she piped.

The woman held a warm smile as she pulled along the crowds with ease. "No doubt for your orange hair I suppose." she said.

The girl giggled at her side, bouncing slightly in her steps. Whatever had made the child suddenly so happy did not change the uneasy feeling in the pit of the Zafara's stomach. "Careful now. Mustn't get separated." the blue haired woman said.

"What's your name?"

"What?"

"What's your name lady?" the girl repeated.

The Zafara hesitated for a minute, but couldn't say a lie to Ginger's sparkling blue eyes. A smile spread across her face. "My name is…Grace," after some hesitation she added, "but you can call me Zephyrne."

A brighter smile spread over Ginger's face as she bounced again. "That's a pretty name!" she cried out happily. "Are you graceful?" she asked the woman.

At first Zephyrne said nothing. She brought her hood more down over her eyes as guards from the castle walked by. Once they were gone, Zephyrne led Ginger around the corner towards the white castle. She turned back to the child while holding her hand more tightly as the crowds grew. "No, not at all. I'm quite clumsy really," she admitted. A sour expression came to her face as memories of her "clumsiness" came back to her. "I really do need to be more graceful though," she added in a sigh.

Ginger said nothing in reply, in far too much awe by the banners hanging around the white towers. Zephyrne felt her heart warming up at the innocent curiosity bestowed before her and wished for the times of childhood for herself.

By the time Zephyrne was crossing the bridge and reached the gates, she felt her insides churn and twist with nerves. She had long released her hand on Ginger and carried her in fearing she would get lost in the big crowds, or worse, possibly fall into the moat. Passing the gates and entering the large courtyard, Zephyrne placed Ginger back on her feet. She let out a small whine of losing her ride before a voice entered both their ears.

"Ginger! Oh Ginger! Where are you?!" shouted a brunette Usul, walking around the passing villagers with tears pouring down her face.

"Mummy!" Ginger screamed and ran to her mother, completely forgetting Zephyrne. She ran to her mother and enveloped her in a big hug. While the parent smothered her with kisses and hugs, Ginger looked back to thank Zephyrne, only to find she was gone.

Ginger was beside herself with shock. In her mind's eye, she completely believed that she had walked alongside with a real faerie, just as the fairytales had told her as a baby. A brightened smile came to her face as she buried herself in her mother's arms.

"Thank you Graceful Faerie…," she whispered.

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Woo! First chapter done! Hope you all liked it! Not much going on, but more will happen later on! :D Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

Whee! Nother chapter! And this is where things get juicy folks! :D Do enjoy!

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Zephyrne ran away from the sight as fast as she could, feeling tears stinging her eyes. As soon as she ran far enough away from the courtyard and into the back of the castle, she ripped off her hood and sobbed into her hands. Her long pale blue hair fell down her back like a silk curtain. They were silent sobs, the kind where someone couldn't tell she was crying at all until they looked into her watery eyes and listened to her quiet sharp and quaky breaths.

No one was around her in the back of the castle. The stables of the Unis she stood next to was the only thing present. Still, the thought of being alone and far from the gates wasn't what brought more tears from her eyes. She slid down on the wood until she landed on her rump in one heap.

'I miss her so much…' the Zafara thought sadly. Her usually dull-to-emotion eyes were filled with such sadness as her mind portrayed a time in her childhood.

Zephyrne's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sounds of pets approaching. Her delicate large ears could pick up the clicking and clanking of metal on metal and the sound of flapping wings which meant only one thing.

Draik Knights.

Without thinking, Zephyrne ran into the stables and shut the doors behind her. She prayed to the Faeries that they wouldn't enter, or worse, had seen her enter. But despite the adrenaline rush cursing through her body, the maiden found herself listening in intently on the conversation of the two or three knights passing by. Again, her curious side got the best of her and she peeked open the stable door to see the armor clothed knights flying by towards the stadium. They spoke of the tournament starting in a while, and spoke of this great, "Sir Jeran Borodere". By the way they spoke so proudly of him, he must have been one of the greater knights. They even spoke of his past adventures for a second, nodding their heads in agreed amazement the knight had gone so far from being a simple boy they knew.

As they neared, Zephyrne closed the door a little more. Thankfully, the knights flew by with boastful laughter filling the air and left to the stadium to find a good seating spot. With a sigh of relief, the blue haired maiden closed the door with a quiet click. Still eyeing the door (as though it might burst open to show the king himself) the Zafara walked backwards until she ran into one of the stalls. Whipping around with a sort of squeak, she quickly relaxed at the sight of the snow white Uni staring down at her curiously.

The Uni stared at the girl for the longest time, but focused entirely on her wide eyes. Zephyrne blinked for a minute, finding herself growing curious in the tall creature herself. For a moment she felt they shared the same query mind, both having the same curious thought to know the other of their presence. The Zafara knew enough then to know the Uni looked friendly then gave a shy smile. "Hello there," she said in a half sigh, partially because she was hoping to be in some sort of pleasant company at the moment.

It neighed at her in greeting and seemed to have given her a smile. Zephyrne smiled at the gentle beast and petted its mane. In response, it nudged her at the neck. Its wet nose tickled the delicate skin under her chin and brought out some raspy giggles. She was still upset after all, but meeting this friendly beast made her feel a little better.

"I see Iris has taken liking to you Miss." said a voice from within the stables.

Zephyrne shrieked and turned to see a young blue Lupe standing not to faraway from her, feeding another Uni. She hardly felt his presence in the dark room. The maiden could barely tell what his features looked like (but knew what they were nonetheless with her sharp sight and memorized them into her mind). He wore nothing but simple clothes over a golden mail shirt glinting from the light peeking though the wood boards above. His gentle yellow eyes held a glint of mischief that brought sudden fear in the pit of her stomach. She hadn't thought someone might be in the stables with her. She was far too upset to think straight a minute before.

She must be getting rusty.

"It is rare to see Iris getting too friendly with anyone though. I'm surprised she has acted so gentle to you so quickly," the Lupe spoke in a faint English accent, common for Meridell. He gave one last pat to the purple Uni he was feeding and walked over to the Zafara.

Zephyrne shrunk back from the male, hiding slightly behind the Uni. All the while she was looking at the door in the corner of her eye for a quick escape. Still, if she ran now, that would only bring more suspicions on her part.

The Lupe now stood before her and she hid her face quickly behind the Uni's head, almost forcing its head to hide her own. The act brought an amused smile to the Lupe and he held out his hand while bowing slightly. "May I have your name?" he asked.

Zephyrne blinked. "My name in what?" she said confused.

The Lupe chuckled heartily, which brought a tint of a blush to Zephyrne's cheeks. She had to admit, the Lupe was handsome. And his smooth voice did send a small shiver down her spine. Whether it may be from fear of him in general or excitement, she did not know. Still, his presence was frightening the Zafara maiden more so by the minute. She began to feel flustered and grow a weakness around him. She couldn't even think straight with those captivating yellow eyes staring at her, which in turn made her did her best to not make eye contact at all. She couldn't bear to even look at them for some reason.

The feeling was alien to her, and she felt truly scared of him.

"Allow me to rephrase," he said smiling, "May I know your name?"

The blue haired female blushed even deeper. "Oh! Um…yes," she said with a shy nod and clumsily curtsied in response to his bow. Unfortunately, she lived up to her earlier words to Ginger about being quite clumsy, and accidentally tripped on her dress, thus sending her falling forward crashing into the chest of the young male.

Zephyrne had to blink several times before believing what she had done and looked up at the face of the Lupe, no farther than an inch from her nose.

In the back of her mind, she thought she could hear the faeries above the clouds laughing their heads off at the spectacle. They do enjoy making Pets' lives a living nightmare at times. Zephyrne was just a favorite to them.

"Um…well," the Lupe said awkwardly. His yellow eyes stared straight into her own for the first time and seemed to captivate the Lupe. The Zafara had a tone of blue in them that would seem to magically sparkle in both the dark and light. She knew they were quite beautiful to some Neopets, but never really thought of it much since she liked to hide her face from the world.

Her stare, she noticed, brought a tint of a blush to his furry cheeks. "Now I can't say that a maiden has never thrown herself at me before," he said with an awkward smile.

Zephyrne snapped out of her stupor and jumped away from the male with an embarrassed shriek. "I-I'm sorry!" she said sinking into a more dignified curtsey and bowing her head deeply from him, trying to hide her red face. The Uni beside her gave off a neigh that closely resembled laughter. She sent it a glare and then stood up not looking at the young male. "So very sorry," she said meekly.

A gust of wind blew through the planks of wood and ruffled her long silky blue hair. It was then she realized her hood was down and her face was fully exposed.

With as much composure, and trying not cause any warning or suspicion in her true actions, Zephyrne was about to reach for her hood to pull it back over her face before the Lupe spoke again.

"It's quite alright Miss," the Lupe chuckled rubbing the back of his head. He looked away shyly and went to tend another Uni. Zephyrne did nothing but stare at her feet all the while cursing to herself of her clumsiness. Why she did not take that exact moment to leave made her wonder. She found herself glued to the spot.

"So, are you here to see the tournament?"

The question brought the girl back to reality and she nodded before realizing he wasn't even looking at her. "Y-Yes! I am. I was just….I got lost," she half lied. In truth, she did get lost and didn't mean to get this far out of the gateway. In fact, her original goal was to stay AWAY from the castle!

As they say, she wished to stay away from the lion's den. And now she was practically up in the lion's mouth talking with this mysterious blue Lupe.

"Ah, you must have entered from the wrong gate then," he said brushing the Uni's mane, "No matter. The castle is small and the tournament entryway isn't hard to find."

Zephyrne nodded to this then turned to the Uni beside her. With gentle hands of a nurse, she petted its nose and allowed it to lick her palm. The Uni seemed determined to cheer her up somehow from her earlier actions and pushed its nuzzle into her expose neck again and licked her ear. She giggled lightly and rested her head against its neck in silent thanks. Its soothing breathing vibrated through her ears as she heard its calm pulse.

"I couldn't help but notice though…," the Lupe said walking away from the Uni. He stood in a straight posture with his arms behind his back at a fair distance from the maiden and stared at her with a blank stare. His presence now felt knightly for some reason; odd for a regular stable boy. "Your eyes were bloodshot and puffy. As though you were crying?" he questioned.

Zephyrne's face paled slightly and she turned away from the stable boy, this time grabbing her hood and pulling it over her head completely. "No. You are mistaken," she said in a monotone voice.

The Lupe looked hurt and bowed his head. "Forgive me then," the male said serenely, "It was not my business to pry." He said all this while staring straight into her eyes with a look of hurt shining in those yellow orbs.

"No, it's not that! It's…," Zephyrne caught herself and bit her lip. She forced her features to put up a stony face, but now the memory from before caught up with her again and she was much too upset to even try to hide her rabid emotions. Now the canine Neopet had his full attention on her, his expression grieving with clear concern. She hid behind the Uni again in a sad attempt to hide from his piercing gaze. "I was crying," the Zafara admitted. She played with her blue ear that faded in color slightly like the rest of her fur.

"Well anyone with eyes could have seen that Miss," the Lupe joked, "But I believe my question was WHY you were crying."

Zephyrne managed a small smile at him then darted her eyes away. For some reason she could not understand, she found no reason to lie to the kind Lupe. She also had this deep feeling within her that told her she could trust this stable boy. She glanced at his face to find he was awaiting the answer with the utmost patience. "Well, earlier on…I helped a little girl find her mother and father," she said quietly.

The Lupe blinked. "Well that's nothing to cry over," he said confused. He failed to notice the annoyed look the white Uni sent him, as though trying to voice out its thoughts for him to shut up and let the lady continue.

"I know. But…that girl…she reminded me so much of my sister…" Zephyrne said slowly. She was tempted to say more but chose to say, "It pained me to see her run off like that…," Zephyrne said sadly, "It felt like I lost my sister again."

The Lupe kept silent and then stepped up to place a paw on her shoulder. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have brought up such a sad memory for you."

Zephyrne shook her head. "No, its alright," she said smiling at him, though the smile was strained from sad memories. Fresh tears were gathering up in her eyes and she brushed them away with her sleeve before they could fall. "I hear it is good to let out your feelings and talk about your troubles. I'm just sorry I had to trouble you with mine," she added.

The Lupe shook his head, the blue bangs between his ears swaying at every shake. "No, I do not mind at all. I am glad to have helped in some way," he said with genuine truth lacing his words. "I too feel the same slightly," he said like a true knight. Zephyrne wouldn't be surprised if he would become one someday. He scratched his head in thought, "I…I feel like I had a sister once before…but I have no proof of that." He looked over to her.

Zephyrne asked, "Do you remember what she was like?"

The question surprised the Lupe. "Well, no. I'm beginning to think she was merely a dream as a child. But…"

"But what?"

"I don't know. She felt…so real. Far too real… It's hard to explain really," the Lupe sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Well, perhaps she was, and perhaps she wasn't, but I believe she was a fond memory of yours either way, correct?" Zephyrne asked smiling warmly.

The yellow eyes blinked and then warmed to a smile as well. "Yes…that is true," he said.

"Then real or not, she was a pleasure and you should keep that thought. Try and not forget something like that," she said, sounding as though she was speaking for herself.

The blue Lupe smiled and grabbed her hands in a comforting gesture. "I will. Thank you."

Right then the two shared a peaceful moment and shared a wonderful feeling together.

The sudden sound of trumpets blowing off startled the both of them. The blue Lupe looked shocked then smacked his forehead. "Bugger!" he cursed under his breath and ran to the haystack in the back of the stables. Zephyrne couldn't see what he was doing, but after a few minutes of something clanking and bashing around, she saw the Lupe running out while struggling to put on a gold armor brass plate on his chest. She gasped out in fright.

"Y-You're…a kn-kn-kn-knight?!" she shrieked.

"Yes I am!" the Lupe said hurriedly without looking at her, but rather hurried over to open the doors then ran to grab the white Uni out of it's stall. "I'm sorry I failed to mention that earlier, but right now I must be going!"

Zephyrne didn't hear any of this as she suddenly felt it hard to breathe. She was talking…to a KNIGHT?! He saw her face and everything too! Her presence had been spotted by a royal guard! Her mission was now up in smoke! How could she have so careless?! Oh she was in for it for sure this time…

"Miss?"

Zephyrne jumped and whirled around to see the knight standing beside the Uni and looking at her with an unreadable expression. In the background of her fuzzy mind she could hear the announcer over the castle walls calling out all the knights coming out into the courtyard. "I never got you name yet," he said smirking slightly.

At this point, Zephyrne's mind was set on a mad frenzy and barely was thinking straight as it was. "Zephyrne," she whispered staring at him wide eyed. She grabbed her mouth in shock and couldn't believe she, as they say, added more oil to the fire!

The Lupe smiled, more handsomely than she had ever seen him yet, and walked over to her slowly, taking her hand in his and kneeling down. "Zephyrne," he whispered before kissing her fingers, "What a beautiful name."

Zephyrne now couldn't speak, breathe, or think at all now. She barely let out some audible squeaks while her face was the perfect picture of shock, red as an apple.

The Lupe gave her a curt nod and ran back to his steed, leaping on the saddle and began to march out the doors. "Good bye Lady Zephyrne!" he called out to her.

The cry snapped her away from her thoughts. "W-Wait!" she cried out running after him. Much to her surprise, she saw him riding the wind and flying away from her and over the taller white walls.

"And coming in from the West side of the arena…," came the loud announcer's voice, "…is Jeran Borodere, the Gold Knight!" After this, the crowd over the walls erupted in such a loud applause that it made the battle cries of war sound meek.

"Jeran…," Zephyrne muttered to herself. Despite the fact that she had been accounted for treason, lost sight of her original mission, met face to face with a knight that could probably remember her upon future recognition, and that she felt mortified in herself…

…she couldn't help but let a smile grow on her face.


	3. Chapter 3

Whee! Next chapt! yay!

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About hour later, after the same Zafara met the glorious knight, she was having difficulty with a puzzle she found herself in. A tactic that sounds simple enough, was said to be easy and obvious, but apparently wasn't simple enough for her!

_"Where is the bloody exit?"_

She thought going through the marble hallways would help her, but found it made her even more lost. She had no idea the castle was so BIG inside! And the matching stone walls and paintings did not help in the least; it didn't take much for her to know that the passages were getting trickier. Corridor after corridor, and yet still the Zafara found no sign of an exit. Her nerves were building up, as it was getting late and she was lost in the one place she wanted to stay away from, where she felt she walked head first into the lion's den with the beast ready to pop out and gobble her up at any given moment. She was tempted to just jump out a window for a quick escape, but thought against it from getting caught outside.

Many times she had come across close calls; running into guards and quickly hiding behind suits of armor, or simply running into an open doorway to an empty room. But as the female walked farther into the hallways, the close calls grew and she feared for her life that there might be one more before…

Zephyrne stumbled on her dress and knocked into a suit of armor! Luckily she grabbed the heavy thing before it could topple over. However the helmet rolled right off its shoulders and clattered on the floor, bouncing away into another corridor before she could even have the chance to stop it.

"You hear that?"

"Yeah! Sounded like something over there!"

Zephyrne's heart jumped to her throat and she looked back to see two shadows approaching her way. The female did not hesitate to sprint away down the hallway.

"It must have been nothing. Come on we have to get back to our posts!" said one of the guards. To her dismay, Zephyrne saw the shadows moving her way again!

There was a long corridor she entered and at the end was a different type of door. For one thing, it was a doubled door made of the finest wood and it was almost as big as a house, skyrocketing to the heavens unlike the other small rooms she ran into before. It stretched to the ceiling and looked to have real golden hinges and knobs! She would have stayed to think of what could be inside; a friend or foe, riches or rags, safety or danger, but the flapping wings of the Draik guards grew closer! Checking to see if the door wasn't locked, and almost shouting in glee to see it wasn't, she sneaked into the room and closed it with a quiet click. Her ears strained to hear the wings of the guards with her face pressed on the wood. By the sound they were taking their time towards her spot, they wouldn't be leaving any time soon.

Zephyrne gave a jump start; her bones froze in a hard chill. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled up too, as though she felt someone watching her!

There was something in the room…

Turning to face the room she just entered, Zephyrne saw it was a dimly lit room filled with stone support beams of the fat king. The room was huge to the Zafara! The walls beyond the pillars weren't even visible from her frozen spot and she was sure that if she ventured away she would get lost in a maze of support beams and red flags. There was a long red carpet under her feet that traveled away into the dim room until even her trained eyes couldn't see where it led to. To her shock, she could not see any lanterns lighting up the room. None to her knowledge.

"But where is that light coming from?"

She knew it to be nightfall, for the windows she passed by earlier were cloaked in darkness. Whatever provided the light must be something in the room, but by the eerie glow that seemed to come from all over the place, it gave her shaky feeling. She really wanted to leave…

Her large ears heard the guards approaching the door and she practically leapt away. Zephyrne looked into the room, then back at the door, feeling her insides churn.

But once again, her curiosity poked at the back of her mind…

"What is that light? Where is it coming from? Would it hurt me? Is it anything dangerous?" her inner thoughts were going on and on with possibilities. She turned to the door, and then back into the eerie room.

"Stand here, go explore... Stand here, go explore..." she muttered. Biting back a grunt, Zephyrne forced herself to turn on her heel and walked into the room.

"I'm going to regret this…I'm going to regret this…" she chanted to herself.

Her feet carried her down the ridiculously long, long, LONG corridor, passing the same motionless support beams over and over as they all stared down at her with cold unwavering eyes. Each one made her shiver, like she was being watched, but found the odd feeling building inside of her was not because of the statues. She had not yet found what the light was, and began to feel an ache in her legs from walking so long.

"Where are you…," Zephyrne muttered out loud seeing the light grow brighter by the second. Her ears suddenly began to ring and she brought her hands up to rub the ring away, only to find it grew in volume. It was annoying to say the least and she thought it distracting. The light she saw was now in sight and set off a newfound fear boiling in her veins. The ringing changed into whispers and the chills shook her body from a sudden fright. The hair at the back of her neck stood on edge until it started to prick her skin as a cold sweat began to grow on her brow. Why was she suddenly so terrified?

Now the whispers were louder now than ever before. They were speaking to the Zafara, but there were so many talking at once she lost what they were saying. They spoke to her as though they were standing right behind her. She twirled around with her hand on her knife to find no one there. But the disturbing whispers still rang out as though all over her now. The maiden kapt her hand on the knife under her dress like a defensive animal trying to act tough in front of its predator, when in reality it was crying out in fear for its life!

The closer she came to the strange light, the more scared she felt. The feeling, she found out, wasn't a hallucination, but a sense, one she never felt before. It was like an ominous inner voice was trying to tell her that danger was coming, or a sensation an animal would get when they are being hunted.

Zephyrne wanted nothing more than to run away, but found she couldn't stop. She just kept walking to the light as though in a daze, and all at once, she felt numb. She felt nothing at all as soon as her eyes traveled upward to the source of the light.

The long red carpet she had walked on came to a stop on a stairway, where she stood frozen at the base, staring up at the golden pedestal. Floating on the gold stature, not even touching the stone, was a glowing gold orb that spun in midair. It was engraved in strange markings, clearly from old languages of the ancient days.

Her eyes gazed up at the circling orb with the whispers in her ears at their loudest and her heart thumbing in her chest. With eyes glued on the spectacle, and felt herself falling into a sort of spell, Zephyrne began to lose all thought. Her usual sharp mind began to surrender to the strange sensation overcoming her body and let herself fall to her knees at the sight of the orb glowing. The feeling or sense of precaution deep within the maiden that had been acting up till then grew weak along with the rest of her body. She swayed slightly, falling deeper and deeper into the darkness surrounding her with her sight still glued on the orb of deathly beauty. In her foggy mind, she could barely see the silhouettes of three shrouded figures in the back of the room…all seeming to smirk at her frail form.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!!"

Zephyrne snapped out of the spell at the sound of booms outside the castle walls! The feeling was gone in an instant, but the whispers were still there, almost insistently calling her back into the darkness! The Zafara again felt herself falling before more booms awakened her senses. She quickly backed away from the falsely magnificent looking orb and rushed to the far wall where the booms came from. To her delight, she found a window where flashing lights lit the way.

She ran to the open window and hopped on the ledge with ease, more than happy to feel the cold air on her fur again. More booms sounded off above her head and she looked to see beautiful fireworks blasting off into the skies. Below her she saw all the villagers stopping to look at the sight, including the guards.

The eerie feeling of someone watching her every move crawled up her spine. She glanced back at the golden treasure one last time, feeling herself grow weak just looking at it. It spun hauntingly at her and whispered to call her back…

Zephyrne shook her head and turned to the outside. The height made her hesitant for a second, but the feeling building on her back urged her on to practically jump right then and there. She wasted no time lowering herself from the window ledge. The room was only on the second floor, and the Zafara first landed on another ledge of another window and then landed gracefully on her feet on the ground. Her feet took off to the nearest doorway, never caring if it was an exit or not at this point; just hoping no one saw her.

Her spirit rose to the heavens as she ran out from the castle gates and into the streets. She kept on running and never dared to look back. The freedom from the clutches of the castle overwhelmed her body and she leaped happily to the air. Glancing around the grassy plains and to the village, she pulled her hood over her head and sprinted off out of the lands towards North.

The dull blue Zafara though, despite having felt herself falling for something truly evil, felt herself smirk under her hood.

"I found it."

* * *

I hope you all are familar with the first story of Meridell. With the evil orb and all. XD If not, please find out, otherwise this won't make any sense.


	4. Chapter 4

Wow, I haven't updated this in a LONG time! Its still a story I always love, and even if no one if reading it, I'll still post some new cahpaters!

* * *

The crafty Zafara soon returned to her home in the skies, and happily gave word of what she had found.

"The Orb was in Meridell."

That was all she said.

"Were you seen?" the gangly king said standing before his tall window to the gloomy outer world the Citadel never seemed to be free from. Dark clouds always clung to the walls of the castle floating in mid air hundreds of feet above the ground.

Zephyrne stood in the middle of the large throne room; tattered yellow banners hung from the ceiling and the once plush, red carpet under her feet were withering in its proud color. Not daring to take a glance around the room, Zephyrne saw in the corner of her eye old furniture, all crumbling away as time progressed and all lost their luster from their prime days.

Remnants of their past seemed to haunt the corridors of the castle now; it was junk to all else but the people of the Citadel who treasured these artifacts in remembrance of their happy years.

"Agent?" Lord Darigan said glancing over his shoulder of thick gray fur to the small Zafara standing in the center of the room. To all else his narrow yellow eyes and pricing red pupils might terrify all of those who come near, but to everyone in his domain, they saw him as the same kind and wise king they loved before the depression. Zephyrne snapped her head up to her ruler.

"N-No sir! I wasn't seen," she said firmly.

The king stared straight into her eyes and seemed to have peeked into her very soul, but the Zafara never blinked or flinched. Her blue eyes stayed firm into his own and never once backed down. The king nodded and turned away from the window.

The double spy bowed, staying in the room as he called in his most trusted guard, and requested her to stay for a while longer. The more she stayed the more nervous she became and Zephyrne dearly wished she could leave. Soon after, an old orange Grarrl in black armor slowly came into the room. After a few spoken words between the two, the Grarrl made a bow himself and left the room. But the outspoken words that came after, "Prepare the warriors!" were what brought a cannonball to drop in her belly.

The king turned back to her with steely yellow eyes, the exact opposite from the good knight, Jeran. "Are you sure it is in Meridell?" he asked with a hint of hysteria in his voice. It was obvious he was joyous to hear the good news, but the look sent an odd chill down her back.

Zephyrne's answer was the most painful word she had to say in her life.

"Yes."

To think that their precious life giver, as the King had told her what the awful thing was was in the hands of such a kind and lovely country. But then again, her home was too once upon a time, and just look at it now.

* * *

The castle then moved its flight course for the beautiful lands, which took almost a year to take. It brought out more darkness to the lands they crossed and taking along their curse, giving chaos wherever they went. It was not of their doing, but it happened wherever they would go nonetheless.

Zephyrne saw the ground burst with life of sickly green roots coming from the ground from her perch in the skies. An Ixi screamed at the sight and ran away. Her heart leapt to her throat to see the poor creature trapped among the roots as they gathered all around it.

Zephyrne thought of all the ways to save the Ixi. The Zafara agent ran to her room at the castle and searched everywhere for a way to freeze the roots from spreading, at least for a minute for the innocent creature to escape.

Then she paused. "Freeze…THAT'S IT!" she cried out. She ran to her chest of treasures from her journeys and pulled out an Ice Snowball trapped in a glass case. Without wasting another minute, the Zafara ran back out to the grounds she was on and saw in horror the poor creature was worst off than before! The roots were snatching at the Ixi like snakes, beginning to corner it to a small hill.

She aimed carefully and threw down at the roots with all her might. Like she planned, the Ice Snowball landed and exploded into snow, freezing the roots instantly. The Ixi stared dumbstruck as the roots began to crack and crumple away.

"Run…run blast it! Run!" Zephyrne hissed under her breath. She turned around to see if anyone was watching her as she did this and quickly looked back to see the creature sprinting away at top speed to safer lands. The maiden let out a long breath and relaxed her nerves. But the feeling left as soon as it came when her eyes spotted something coming up in the distance.

The great and marvelous Meridell castle stood ahead of their path, its gleaming white towers shining proudly in the distance.

And that was when the war had begun; over the Orb that had brought false perfection to the lands, along with anguish and desperation.

* * *

Yay! Tis up and now we get to where the war begins!


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